The present invention relates to a connection mechanism for fastening soft goods (e.g. the fabric for the seat of a stroller) to a support structure (e.g. the stroller frame). More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for securely and releasably attaching soft goods to a frame such that the soft goods, when attached to the frame, are able to function as a load-bearing surface and yet be easily removable from, and attachable to, the frame.
A variety of children's products, such as strollers, playpens, car seats, etc. have structural frameworks that are formed of metal tubing or molded plastic and have child support seating areas that are formed by, or lined with, fabric. Typically, the fabric of the seating area, whether the fabric actually forms the seating area or just covers the seating area, is manufactured separately from the framework of the product and is therefore required to be attached to the framework.
A variety of devices are known for attaching soft goods to a frame. Devices, such as rivets, can be utilizesd to securely fasten soft goods to a frame, however, these devices do not allow for removal of the soft goods for laundering or other purposes.
Other devices are known for removably attaching soft goods to frame structures, however, these devices suffer drawbacks as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,352 to Leal et al. discloses a soft good cover that is attached to a car seat frame by standard snap fasteners. The female portion of the fastener is attached to the soft good and the male portion is directly secured to the car seat frame. The snap fasteners are provided along the periphery of the soft good and the seat to attach the cover to the seat. The patent also discloses that other attachment means, such as belts, elastic straps, or ties may be used to attach the soft good to the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,903 to Minardi discloses a standard hook and loop fastener to attach a cushion to a car seat where one portion of the fastener is attached to the soft good and the other portion may be glued or secured by other similar means to the car seat frame itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,271 to Johnston et al. discloses pad eyes in the frame of an infant seat that are designed to receive buttons provided on a cushion for removably attaching the cushion to the frame.
Another known technique for attachment of a soft good to a cylindrical frame includes a clip that is semi-circular in configuration and is designed to be releasably attached directly to a frame member by snap-fitting the semi-circular clip around the frame. The clip contains an integrally molded, thin rectangular tab that extends from the body portion of the clip to which the soft good product may be sewn. In this manner, a soft good is directly secured to a clip and the clip is releasably attachable to a frame to secure the soft good to the frame.
All of these various attachment mechanisms, i.e. ties, belts, elastic straps, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, clips, etc., have utility in applications where a liner, cushion, or any other type of soft good is required to be removably attached to a frame and where the frame or an additional securing mechanism bears the load applied to the soft good. Thus the attachment mechanisms described above merely attach the soft good to the frame. These devices are not suitable for securing soft goods to a frame where the soft goods alone are required to support a load. If these types of devices were used in the load-bearing context, the load, or weight of the child in the child apparatus context, could act to detach the attachment device from the frame and the child could be harmed by inadvertent detachment of the attachment device.
An additional drawback with attachment devices such as the clip described above is that since the clip is totally self-contained, i.e. no part of the attachment device is fixedly secured to the frame for mating with a second part, the clip can be attached at any location on the frame. Thus, the attachment mechanism itself provides no guidance to the user for determining where on the frame to secure the clip in order to ensure proper positioning of the soft good to the frame.
Additional types of fastening devices are known that are able to support the weight of a child occupant, however, these devices also suffer drawbacks that are solved by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,122 to Andrisin, III discloses a stroller seat back recline mechanism where the seat back's angle of inclination is able to be adjusted by looping a web extension that is attached to the top of the seat back at different positions within a slotted buckle fastener that is directly secured to the stroller frame. Whereas the frictional connection between the web and the slot, to a limited extent, is able to support the weight of a child occupant and whereas it also serves to attach the soft good seat back to the stroller frame at one location, the connection does not provide for ease in removing the soft good from the stroller frame. The connection is not intended for this purpose and does not provide this functionality. Additionally, should this type of connection be used for the sole purpose of attaching soft goods to a frame, the frictional threaded web and slot connection between the soft good and the slotted buckle is susceptible to working itself loose due to the lack of a positive, mechanical interlock between the soft good and the buckle. Loosening of the connection between the soft good and the frame, where the soft good is supporting a child occupant, could result in harm to the child.
A final known technique for securing a load-bearing soft good to a frame is to provide web attachments to the periphery of the soft good which are then wrapped around the frame and fastened directly to the frame by using, for example, screws. However, securing the webbing directly to the stroller frame does not provide for ease in detaching and reattaching the soft good to the frame. Tools are required to detach and reattach the soft goods and, additionally, reattaching the soft goods is made even more difficult for the user because, similar to the positioning drawbacks discussed previously for the clip, the proper relative positioning of the webs to the frame is not obvious to the user.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a connection mechanism that securely attaches load-bearing soft goods to a frame, provides for a positive, mechanical interlock between the soft goods and the frame that requires an act directed to decoupling the connection for detaching the soft goods, and that allows for ease in detaching, reattaching and positioning the soft goods on the frame without requiring tools.